24 October 2013

"There are 17,000 aid workers in South Sudan, making it one of the largest aid operations in the world. In 2012 there were 25 major attacks on aid workers ... With 9 murders of aid workers, that puts the aid worker murder rate in South Sudan at 53 per 100,000. How does this compare to the murder rates of other places?"

7 comments:

Bob
said...

That chart is shocking twice: that murder rates of aid workers in South Sudan are so high, and perhaps the larger shock that murder rates in Detroit and New Orleans are even higher!

Having a look at the original Aid Leap article (http://aidleap.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/aid-workers-and-risk-part-3-south-sudan-dangers/) it seems like violent murder is, statistically speaking, a 'minor worry'... so probably more dangerous overall than Detroit, once you add up all the other dangers. But to be safe, maybe we should just stick with living in London!

Most murders in large North American cities take place in situations where non-local persons are not likely to be : inner-city ghettos late at night and are mainly between people who know one another personally, competing gangs/drug dealers and so on. What are the situations in which Aid workers are being killed? What percentage is random violence, a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? What percentage is a result of them targetted by virture of their work/nationality? What percentage a result of being in places where they should be in the first place, such as bars and clubs which have been noted by donor agencies are places to avoid.

All good questions! Most murders of aid workers are targeted: aid workers being killed for what they do. The majority of cases happen while travelling (usually to/from) the field location. While being at the wrong place/wrong time accounts for some deaths, these are the minority.

Interestingly, the rate of aid worker killings appears to be independent of overall murder rates in the country. Attacks on aid workers are most prevalent so called 'fragile states': those with little rule of law and weak governments or experiencing conflict.

The total numbers of aid workers killed (25) is so small compared with the much larger numbers of death in Detroit (nearly 400 in 2012) that it's difficult to draw much meaning by comparing percentages. I'm not familiar with the deaths in Sudan when when I've worked in Yemen or Afghanistan or Eygpt most cases of an aid worker's death could be traced to the individuals not following established security protocols, or the organization not having good protocols. The numbers don't say anything about the geographical location. An assignment in Juba with an organization with well developed security protols can't be compared to an assignment with a bare bones NGO operating in a sketchy area.

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